


Aftermath

by kotokei



Series: K Rarepair Week 2017 Fics [4]
Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Living Together, Minor Violence, Multi, Nightmares, again please see the beginning notes for additional warnings, chitodewa are qpp, dealing with bad dreams with your partners, parentheses parentheses as far as the eye can see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 20:31:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9624212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotokei/pseuds/kotokei
Summary: In the time that Dewa's moved in with Eric and Fujishima, the three have come up with some specific ways to deal with bad nights since they're no strangers to nightmares, especially given Eric's past. Fujishima, however, rarely suffers from bad dreams.Until a HOMRA mission against an armed gang goes very wrong.





	

**Author's Note:**

> An additional warning here for minor armed violence, minor mentions of blood and injury, people dying in nightmares and a small discussion of suicidal tendencies (that part of the story dances around suicidal ideation and possible codependency). Almost all of this starts at the italics section and later, but if it's safer for you to turn back, please do that now.

Fujishima brings up moving in with Eric, with him, approximately three months after the second year they've all been together. It takes Dewa two months and multiple conversations with lifelong partner Chitose and their two romantic partners after that to come to a (positive) decision, which is when the long and rather frustratingly arduous process of house-searching begins.

Despite the bumps in the road and all the issues they have to consider (how many pets is too many, how many rooms is ideal for people who need space but also aren't rich enough to afford 3 bedrooms, where should they live so that commute isn't too terrible for any of their jobs, what amenities would be nice to have, so on and so forth), they have a comfortable place of their own for all three of them five months after Masaomi finally says yes.

Kosuke's the one who suggests sleeping together, leaving the other bedroom as a space to retreat to if anything gets too overwhelming, and the system works wonders. Unsurprisingly, it's usually either Eric (unused to a third person in his living space, especially somewhere as intimate as the bedroom, despite having been quietly supportive of their moving in) or Dewa (at times feeling too much like an outsider, an intruder, despite knowing they're not, at others simply not used to sleeping this close to anyone else) who needs to get away.

(Sometimes, it's just not a good day for closeness for one or both of them. Fujishima understands. He has days where he strongly prefers the company of animals over humans too, after all.)

It is not, unfortunately, an uncommon occurrence for any one of the three to have nightmares, though Kosuke tended to have them less than Masaomi, who in turn had them considerably less than Eric. Usually, the youngest of the three can either simply go back to bed or wake Fujishima quietly, switching places with him to settle in between him and Dewa and feel safer, warmer (they had agreed on Kosuke sleeping in the middle, as both Masaomi and Eric were more used to contact with him than with each other since neither had been inclined to initiate, and both were comfortable without much touch).

Occasionally, it's too much for him to deal with easily (most of the time, these nightmares are reminders of his time with Hikawa, or how his parents died, once or twice featuring his partners dying the same way right in front of him). On these nights, he wakes them both up (he had tried waking just Fujishima in the beginning, but the two of them leaving the bed had been enough to wake Dewa anyways, since they had never been a deep sleeper). The three of them settle into an unspoken routine: Masaomi gathers up blankets and pillows and carries them to the living room, Eric curls up in the middle of the couch where his black-haired partner then arranges the blankets and pillows around him, and Kosuke makes enough popcorn for a movie marathon, bringing bowls of the treat (jalapeño for Dewa, caramel for Eric, and butter and salt for himself) over with other snacks and drinks.

They always watch notoriously awful movies during these marathons. Eric, nestled securely between his partners, tends to start off with his arms wrapped around his knees tightly until he feels okay enough to start picking at his popcorn. When he uncurls, starts to take popcorn by the handful, starts to respond to Dewa's disbelieving or sarcastic comments regarding the films, they know he's feeling better.

They watch until it's time to get ready for whatever the day brings, or until Eric falls asleep, whichever happens first. When they do stay up all night, they almost inevitably have a small pancake-making party (chocolate chip for Fujishima and Eric, blueberry for Dewa) together in the morning, and it's usually enough to help the blond shake the nightmare.

On the occasion that they're the one with a bad enough nightmare to rattle them, Dewa deals with it very differently, though their actions depend on the severity of the nightmare. If it's enough to keep them awake, then they simply leave the shared bedroom quietly (Fujishima sleeps pretty heavily, and being on the other side of him means that Eric usually doesn't wake) to the promising and relatively mindless distractions of their laptop, whether that be the internet or playing around with graphics before returning when they feel like they can sleep again. If that's still not enough, they go out for a walk, perhaps a smoke very occasionally to ease their nerves. They had always hated worrying their loved ones, and a lifetime of being rather independent means that it simply feels better to resolve the situation by themself.

(Even more occasionally, however, they call Chitose. As much as they've come to love Fujishima and even Eric, there are some things that only their longtime platonic soulmate will ever understand.)

Fujishima, meanwhile, simply doesn't have nightmares enough for the three of them to have a plan in place, and on the rare occasions that he has had them, the animal lover has simply gone back to sleep each and every time.

This changes abruptly when Dewa gets shot protecting Chitose during an attack.

It's a non-fatal injury, but Kosuke is struck hard by how easily things could have turned out otherwise: the bullet had gone through their lower back and straight out their lower abdomen, but it could've hit somewhere that killed them instantly, it could've lodged somewhere difficult, medical help could have been slower to arrive, an infection could have set in...even as fortuitous as it was, it takes them a while to recover at the hospital, something they get frustrated about.

Fujishima finds himself even quieter than usual during the hospital visits, holding their hand silently and just watching them, even when they look away, uncomfortable; sensing his turmoil, Eric fills the silence with stories of the exploits of the rowdier HOMRA members, careful not to mention Chitose after the auburn-haired man gets into a loud and vehement argument with a still-recovering-and-hating-it Dewa ("You're not allowed to do that _ever_ again! Do you know how I felt, thinking that you were going to die? Because of _me_?" "For one, I'm here because of a sniper and not because of you, second, I'm not going to apologize for  _saving your life_ , and third, you know I'm never going to just stand by and watch you die when I can do something about it! You didn't have a problem when it was Maria!" "We would have died _together_ to her!").

It's a fight that rattles both Eric and Fujishima, who hadn't been able to leave the room before things erupted, for many reasons. 

(They had repeated this to Kosuke and Eric later after Chitose had stalked out, fuming, their voice gone worn and quiet and hurting instead of furious and defiant, the fierceness still in their eyes: they do not regret saving Chitose, and will never regret trying to keep him alive, even if it does cost them their own life. 

And then, perhaps taking in Fujishima's red-rimmed eyes and the way his hands shake, perhaps now really seeing Eric's unhealthy pallor, his hair messier than usual, and the way he's hunched in on himself like he does when he's feeling vulnerable, scared, they let whatever else they might have said go, eyes softening. 

Kosuke kind of wishes they had continued, because the way they had only looked tired and sad afterwards, apologizing for the consequences of the choice rather than the choice itself, had felt a lot like some strange, weary resignation. 

In the time between the initial injury and their return from the hospital, the nightmares come on and off for both Fujishima and Eric, the animal lover unsettled by their frequency after years of very few disturbances during his sleep. He chalks up his uneasiness to waking up and not finding Masaomi by his and Eric's side after watching them die in his nightmares, but even after they're released from the hospital, the terrors continue:

 _The fight is loud and chaotic, as it is wont to be, HOMRA clashing with an alliance between two gangs they had beaten before separately. Gunfire makes it harder for the HOMRA members not named Yata or Kamamoto to help Kusanagi, flames generally not strong or long-standing enough to be able to help safely against such multitudes of firearms. Chitose curses, watching where their friends are fighting, and itching to leave the tentative cover they had found. Shouhei makes a sympathetic noise that can barely be heard over the sounds of fighting, but Dewa isn't looking at their other half, or even the battle in front of them: th_ _eir sharp gaze is focused unerringly at some point on a nearby roof._

 _Fujishima remembers noticing (always, always paying attention to both of his lovers) their lack of response to their other half and_ _asking them what they're looking at, and he can see that they're about to say something when they finally glance back at him, Chitose, and the others (_ _and some part of Kosuke just knows, even though the memory-nightmare doesn't show him, that they had seen the red dot of a sniper rifle on Chitose's black vest in that instant, cutting off whatever they had been about to say)._

_Suddenly, they're lunging forward, knocking their best friend to the ground, out of the way, with a shout, a warning, "sniper!"_

_Shouhei reacts quickly, sending a burst of HOMRA fire up at where the shot came from, but the damage has been done. Fujishima can't move, frozen in his shock and budding despair._

_There's so much blood._

_Masaomi's on their side, coughing, choking on it, even as they're trying to gasp for air, even as they're trying to raise their hand to cover where the bullet had ripped through them, where it still seeps red, red blood into their jacket, onto the ground, their eyes scrunched shut against the pain (some part of Kosuke's mind whispers that there hadn't been this much blood in reality, but most of it is trapped in suffocating terror)._

_He grasps for their other hand, not knowing when he had dropped to his knees beside them, vaguely aware of Chitose's harried, frantic, desperate curses before he's pressing a handkerchief, the only clean fabric they collectively have, to the injury. He's only slightly able to register Eric's silently terrified presence next to him, making no noise but huddling up close, hands clenched, white-knuckled, onto Fujishima's jacket, staring down at their mutual partner with wide, scared eyes (Kosuke hates this look, hates how small Eric seems every single time)._

_That's when the nightmare goes from mostly-memory to a pure nightmare, an involuntary spasm from his black-haired partner tightening their weak grip on his hand. When he focuses back on the sheet-white pallor of their face instead of the blood somehow still spreading underneath them, they barely manage to hold his gaze before mumbling a small "i'm so sorry, i don't regret it but i'm so sorry i hurt you" (that's not right, they had said that at some other point--) and going frighteningly still._

_All he can think is no, no, no,_  no, _this isn't how things went_ _\--_

 _And then Eric's vanished from his side and he just knows something bad's happened, even though he can't think of what, can't think of what could have possibly torn stubborn, loyal, wonderful Eric from him too, can't think of why he's all alone_ again-

For the fifth time since they've gotten Dewa back, Fujishima startles awake, breathless in a way he hasn't been for a very, very long time, searching for the reassuring weight and warmth of his partners. Eric is curled, just slightly, into his right side, blond hair tickling his cheek and neck a little, and that helps him breathe a little more easily, but his other partner is conspicuously absent (this isn't incredibly strange: Masaomi has a tendency to fall asleep in different parts of the house fairly often, only sometimes making it to the other bedroom, most often simply falling asleep at their desk or on the couch).

It doesn't really help him, however, after the nightmare he just had, so he very, very carefully and slowly edges away from Eric before tiptoeing out of the room in search of the focus of his nightmare.

The search doesn't take very long. Dewa's settled on the couch, scrolling through something on their laptop, though they look surprised when he comes into the living room and sits down next to them, laying his head on their shoulder lightly.

"Hey. Why are you up?" Even as they ask, they're shifting to a more comfortable position for both of them.

"...nightmare." Fujishima responds truthfully, somewhat soothed by their presence, by how real and alive they feel (their heart's beating normally, their pulse is strong, they're breathing and they're _warm_ ). "...did you have one too?"

Dewa sighs (the sound is clear and familiar and Kosuke had been so, so scared), and says "yes" in a tone suggesting both that this fact has personally offended them and that they're incredibly tired about it at the exact same time. Fujishima knows not to pry. Masaomi will tell him if they want to, and trying to get them to talk about it when they don't want to will only make them uncomfortable and unhappy. Still: "anything i can do?"

"Not really." Dewa's gaze is concentrated on what looks to be a new design for Kusanagi's menus, but they let the younger take one of their hands away from the laptop before asking the same. Fujishima thinks a little on this, but the words tumble from him before he can contemplate it as long as he would have liked to, "I keep seeing you die."

He feels more than sees the way his lover freezes at that, feels the movement as Masaomi swings their gaze sharply to him instead of the screen. Fujishima meets the look head-on, even if he doesn't know what to add on to that statement, if anything.

There's quiet for a few long moments, before Masaomi ventures, "what can I do for you to believe that I'm...not dead? That I'm not actually going anywhere?"

Kosuke shrugs. "This helps. You talking, telling me you're here. Me being able to see you. Being able to feel your heart beating." Dewa displaces the laptop in favor of bringing him closer so that he can hear their heartbeat at that, and he revels in the sound and the peace, but he's come to the realization that he can't not address it, "...knowing that you don't want to. Leave. Go somewhere we can't." 

"What? You think I. Kosuke, I don't want to go anywhere. I'm...happy here. With you two." 

"But you didn't...you didn't even consider us, did you? When you took the bullet for him..." Fujishima can feel the tension coming back into the conversation, but he's determined now. He needs to know. 

"I...that's not fair. There wasn't any time to really think, and if I hadn't done something, Chitose would definitely be dead. It was over his heart," Masaomi's tone is sharp now, edging towards defensive. It's not a talk they want to have. 

"He said that when you guys faced Maria, you tried to protect him too. Even though you _knew_ all you could do when she found you guys was delay his death for a few moments, you still deliberately stepped in front of him. And there was a lot more time that time," Kosuke continues, wrapping his arms around them quickly when Dewa tries to stand up and leave. 

"I need to know, Masaomi." 

They glare at him for stopping them, but they settle back on the couch, transferring their sullen gaze to the plant near the door to the kitchen instead (a move and expression that oddly reminds Fujishima of Eric). 

There's silence for a few long moments, before Dewa, perhaps remembering how remarkably bull-headed Fujishima can be, gives in. 

"I don't know. It's not...an active thing, at least, but I just don't know. Maybe I don't want to live without him. I don't know." They look incredibly frustrated at their own lack of answers, and it's a look of genuine consternation, so Kosuke just nods. It's not what he was hoping for, but at least they're cooperating. He can work with this. 

Dewa's silent for a bit before they say, quietly sincere, all annoyance gone from their voice, "I wasn't lying earlier. I really don't want to go anywhere, and I never want to hurt either of you. I'm not...trying to leave you guys behind. I don't want to. I just can't promise that I won't try to protect Chitose, or you, or Eric, or the others. And I know we're going to talk more about that, but for right now...if it helps, I can promise I'll always try my best to come home to you too."

Fujishima considers this. It does help the unease somewhat, and they've acknowledged that there _is_ something to talk about, so slowly, he nods his acceptance into their shoulder, adjusting so that they're cuddling properly. "I've finally got you guys," he says, remembering how it was like before HOMRA, before he had finally become part of a family, before he had finally come together with the two he loves, the two who love him _back_ , "I never want to lose either of you." Masaomi leans into him, making a noise of what sounds like agreement, but anything else they might have said is discarded when they look up. 

"Eric? What are you doing out of bed?" The blond looks away, cheeks tinted slightly pink, "it got cold without either of you there, so....I woke up."

Dewa and Fujishima look at each other for a moment, both startled by the strangely endearing admission, before they're smiling, the somber mood of earlier replaced by something a little more light-hearted. "Then we have to go back to bed," Kosuke surmises, very seriously, waiting for his still-healing lover to put away their laptop properly before gently lifting them up into his arms, prompting a squawk of surprise from the oldest of the trio and snickering from the youngest.

The three of them re-settle carefully, Fujishima still in the middle, arms coming around both of his partners. Eric surprises Dewa by laying his hand palm up on their mutual lover's chest, but they reciprocate after a moment, holding on while the two of them drift back to sleep. Fujishima's last coherent thought before he joins them is that whatever happens in the future, whatever struggles will come their way, he won't be letting go of either of them without a fight.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was a bit heavier than I meant for this entry to be. We're not even at the angst fic yet, whoops.
> 
> Speaking of which, back to work. :') 
> 
> (Also, we sure did go hardcore on the rare part, but now I kind of want to see more of this trio. Ha. Oops. Played myself once again...)


End file.
